A heated exchange erupted Tuesday as Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid clashed with a Kingsville resident during a South Texas Water Authority meeting over plans to dispose of desalination waste in Baffin Bay.
The controversy began last month when fishing guides, environmental groups, and residents learned that the water authority had quietly signed a contract nearly a year ago with Seven Seas Water.
The agreement allowed the company to discharge up to one million gallons of brine waste per day into Petronila Creek — a waterway that flows into Baffin Bay. The amount could have increased to several million gallons daily.
After facing sharp public backlash, the water authority board voted to kill the plan.
“Motion passes. No discharge into Baffin Bay. Period,” one board member announced after the vote.
Seven Seas Water responded by proposing an alternative.
“We have already commissioned a study for deep-well disposal, and it’s well underway,” a company spokesperson said.
Madrid cautioned that the new plan could come with a higher price tag.
“You guys need to know — because they’ve made this decision, it’s gonna cost more because now they’re gonna deep well inject it," Madrid said. So now it becomes a business deal."
While the immediate threat to Baffin Bay has been averted, questions remain about where the waste will ultimately go — and how much the shift in plans will cost.
KRIS 6 News is continuing to investigate the proposed groundwater desalination facility and will have a full report next week.
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